A federal judge in Mississippi issued an injunction blocking a rule that would have preserved the right for families to sue facilities over quality of care disputes. The rule would have banned clauses that require care disputes through arbitration, not the court system.

The injunction affects only facilities receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds, but since that would be most facilities, it effectively involves most nursing home patients and the clients of nursing home injury attorneys not only in Cleveland but across the nation.

Unsurprisingly, the injunction was pushed by the American Health Care Association, an industry group that represents most nursing homes in the U.S. The group called the new rule “arbitrary and capricious.”

The acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services saw it much differently. In a September blog post, the center contended the blocked rule would have been “a major step forward to improve the care and safety of the nearly 1.5 million residents in the more than 15,000 long-term care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. These new rules set high standards for quality and safety, while providing facilities with important flexibilities that will assist with the preservation of quality of life and quality of care, and are grounded in the concepts of person-centered care.”

Whether you tragically end up needing a birth injury attorney in Cleveland following the birth of your child, or the birth goes well, it’s a safe bet that any birth is far from easy. But there are techniques that Mom, Dad, Doctor and Doula can do to make the birth a little more smoother, and reduce the risk of birth injury at the same time.

First is to hire a doula. A new program at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s provides on-call doulas for a very affordable cost. “For $150, a mom in labor buys a bedside best friend or two who suggest position changes, offers massages, supplies cool forehead cloths — whatever is appropriate in the moment,” the Columbus Dispatch reported.

Other non-drug assistance included water therapy. More and more hospitals are allowing, and sometimes even encouraging, water births. Other creative approaches include acupuncture and even hypnosis.

Whether to go natural or to use medicine ultimately depends on the mother.

“I would say there’s not a right or wrong answer,” Dr. Kara Rood, a maternal fetal medicine fellow at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, told the Columbus Dispatch. “It’s very individualized.”

A co-worker reported witnessing Edward McShaffrey, 58, of Akron, lifting up the shirt of the resident and improperly fondling her. Due to a diagnosed medical condition, the woman is deemed unable to give consent, so McShaffrey’s actions are grossly in violation of the law.

McShaffrey was immediately fired and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

“The safety and wellbeing of our residents are our highest priorities,” the Brookdale Montrose senior living center said in a statement. “We have worked closely with the local authorities and the appropriate state agencies on an investigation of improper conduct of one of our associates.”

McShaffrey has been a licensed nurse since 2004 and faces no prior violations. As any nursing home injury attorney in Cleveland knows, having a clean record does not always indicate innocence. Tragically, sometimes it only means the individual has yet to be caught.